Project 10073 Record: Sighting Report - Salem and Ash Flat, Arkansas, 27 March 1966

This document details a UFO sighting report from 27 March 1966, involving a civilian engineer driving on U.S. Highway 62 between Salem and Ash Flat, Arkansas. The observer reported encountering a roughly elliptical, dark gray or black object, approximately 20 feet long and 15 feet wide, hovering 3 to 4 feet above the road. The object featured 25 to 30 small lights along its bottom circumference. According to the report, as the observer slowed to avoid the object, his automobile's engine died, his headlights went out, and the lights on the object also extinguished. The observer further claimed that his high beam and tail lights were rendered completely inoperative, requiring replacement at a service station. Additionally, the observer reported that 15 reels of magnetic tape he had in his car were ruined by what he described as magnetic erasure. The Air Force investigation, conducted under Project 10073, noted that the observer was alone and that the flight path was unknown, with a final maneuver of straight ascent. Military investigators checked for local fires or aircraft activity at a nearby landing strip in Horseshoe Bend Estates, but found no evidence to explain the sighting. The observer denied that the object could have been an aircraft or smoke. The official conclusion at the time was 'Insufficient Data,' as the observer had not returned the required Form 164 for a full evaluation. The document includes correspondence from Major Hector Quintanilla, Jr., Chief of Project Blue Book, requesting the completion of the form.